Weekly Clean Energy Roundup: September 2, 2009

US Moves to Increase Use of Canadian Tar Sands DOE, U.S. Treasury Award $502M for Renewable Energy Projects DOE: $300M for Alternative Fuel Stations, Vehicles DOE Sets Energy Standards for Beverage Vending Machines Cash for Clunkers Replaces 700,000 Vehicles DOE: $21M to Five Projects for Biomass Processing USDA: $4.2M for Woody Biomass Removal US Moves to Increase Use of Canadian Tar Sands US imports of heavy oil derived from Canadian tar sands gained momentum recently with the approval of a pipeline to deliver the oil to the US and the approval of a refinery designed to handle the heavy oil. The US. State Department announced on August 20 that it approved a Presidential Permit to Enbridge Inc. for the 1,000-mile Alberta Clipper pipeline, which will carry crude oil from Hardisty, Alberta, to Superior, Wisconsin. It will connect to an existing pipeline running from Fort McMurray to Hardisty, allowing the delivery of heavy oil extracted from Canadian tar sands, also known as oil sands. Heavy oil is extracted from tar sands, clear-cutting pristine boreal forest and then using a very energy and water-intensive process – creating double the GHG emissions of conventionally derived oil. See the Pembina Institute’s Oil Sands Watch […]

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